City reps to hold hearing on ethics ordinance

Kate King

Published 11:30 pm, Sunday, January 20, 2013

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The public is invited to comment on proposed changes to the city's ethics code at a public hearing Tuesday at 7 p.m. on the fourth floor of Government Center.

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STAMFORD -- A hotly-debated ordinance that would make wide-ranging changes to Stamford's ethics code will go before the public for the first time Tuesday.

The Board of Representatives Legislative and Rules Committee will hold a hearing on the proposed legislation before voting to pass the item on to the full board for final adoption. The committee has spent more than a year debating the ordinance, which would formalize the board's confidentiality provision and provide limited legal representation for elected officials accused of ethics violations.

"My hope is that the public hearing will not cause any delays, that questions will be answered and those who are there will be satisfied and that we'll go forward with final adoption," committee Chairwoman Eileen Heaphy, D-8, said Friday.

But the last city official to face an ethics complaint in Stamford, city Rep. Sal Gabriele, R-16, strongly objects to the proposed ethics code revisions. He said the Board of Representatives should not pass an ordinance that includes provisions for attorney's fees until its members have received a legal opinion on the topic.

Gabriele is still seeking reimbursement for more than $100,000 in legal fees incurred during his 14-month defense of an ethics complaint lodged by city Fleet Manager Michael Scacco. The grievance, which alleged Gabriele improperly intervened in the disciplining of an employee under Scacco's supervision, was withdrawn in July 2011.

Stamford's Office of Legal Affairs has promised to pay Gabriele's "reasonable" legal expenses in the case, but the two sides have been unable to reach a settlement. A request for declaratory judgment on the matter is pending in court.

The proposed ordinance calls for dozens of changes to Stamford's Code of Ethics, including the following significant revisions:

- Increase the Board of Ethics membership from five members and two alternates to five members and four alternates.

- Prohibit candidates from serving on the Board of Ethics if they have been an "officer in a political party," campaign chair or candidate for any Stamford office over the past year. All Board of Ethics members must refrain from political activity throughout their terms.

- If an ethics complaint is brought against an ethics board member, prohibit that person from participating in board proceedings until the complaint is resolved.

- Adopt a confidentiality measure that gives board members the power to dismiss complaints that are leaked to the press before probable cause is determined.

- Allow the Board of Ethics' hearing board to hire outside counsel to represent it during public hearings in the event that Stamford's Corporation Counsel is unable to serve that function.

- Require the city to reimburse employees and elected officials if the ethics complaints against them are dropped, dismissed or withdrawn. If an accused official hires outside counsel to defend him or her, Corporation Counsel will approve a scope of work and hourly rate fee for the attorney. Workers or officials found to have violated the Code of Ethics would not be reimbursed for their legal expenses.